Devils Team Discussion (current team/player news and notes) ‎2014-2015 Part XVIII

[MichaelJ]

Travis Zajac is a sorry excuse of a hockey player. Never liked liked him. To see him get $6 million per year is one of the biggest jokes in the entire league. I don't care if he's good defensively.

Maybe Lou can send him home to WPG.

 

[glenwo2]

Maybe it's that I'm so used to seeing the Devils slow players but did anyone else think that Boucher looked noticeably quicker? Thought he had a good game yesterday.

There's your answer right there.


But considering also that Boosh and Matteau have Youth on their side, that can also play a factor.

 

[ForeverJerseyGirl]

Maybe it's that I'm so used to seeing the Devils slow players but did anyone else think that Boucher looked noticeably quicker? Thought he had a good game yesterday.

Didn't get to see the game last night because of work, but I think one of the positives of playing a younger forward like Boucher is that they can bring a bit more quickness to the roster. Glad you thought Boucher had a good game.

 

[Tretyak 20]

Maybe it's that I'm so used to seeing the Devils slow players but did anyone else think that Boucher looked noticeably quicker? Thought he had a good game yesterday.

I didn't see the game, but if Boosh looked faster that's a very positive sign. I think his lack of speed has been one of the biggest things holding his development back. Hopefully he's been working on that in Albany and made some improvement.

 

[Devils Trap]

Boucher definitely looked faster yesterday

Matteau did too

 

[Zippy316]

Boucher definitely looked faster yesterday

Matteau did too

Did they look faster or is the rest of the team that slow?

 

[OmNomNom]

bouch was def quick, but he (along with everyone else) got beat quite a few times. He def needs to bulk up though. call me nit-picky, but i was hoping he'd be faster

 

[Devils731]

I thought to myself Boucher looked noticeably quicker last night too.

 

[Zippy316]

I feel like Boucher doesn't have that jaw dropping speed but he has enough acceleration and uses it at the right times to get open. Like on his chance where Gomez fed him the puck, he had a quick little burst of speed to get some separation.

A lot like Henrique I would say.

 

[glenwo2]

I feel like Boucher doesn't have that jaw dropping speed but he has enough acceleration and uses it at the right times to get open. Like on his chance where Gomez fed him the puck, he had a quick little burst of speed to get some separation.

A lot like Henrique I would say.

And that's not a bad thing. It's a good thing.

 

[Bcap88]

Believe it or not, even with the time he's missed, he's 4th on the team in even-strength points, only 4 behind Henrique who leads with 22. And that's been with lower TOI, being 38 years old, and his most common linemates being Havlat, Zajac, and Zubrus.

not saying its just points wise. Hes been idk something is not right with him. He looks lethargic/Lazy his decision making at times has been horrendous and just hasn't been himself. He's had more lapse's this year than any other year I could remember

 

[JimEIV]

not saying its just points wise. Hes been idk something is not right with him. He looks lethargic/Lazy his decision making at times has been horrendous and just hasn't been himself. He's had more lapse's this year than any other year I could remember

Back spasms
Elbow injury
Mumps
Groin
Undisclosed upper body(most likely elbow)....

That is JUST this season and He'll be 39 in 3 weeks....how would you hold up?

 

[Emperoreddy]

Back spasms
Elbow injury
Mumps
Groin
Undisclosed upper body(most likely elbow)....

That is JUST this season and He'll be 39 in 3 weeks....how would you hold up?

Didn't he gave the mumps/flu combo? Or was that just Jagr?

Either way a bad case of the mumps can really mess up your body and conditioning. It took a while for the younger kids to bounce back from it.

 

[Zippy316]

Back spasms
Elbow injury
Mumps
Groin
Undisclosed upper body(most likely elbow)....

That is JUST this season and He'll be 39 in 3 weeks....how would you hold up?

His pathetic excuse for linenmates probably doesn't help either.

 

[Bleedred]

His pathetic excuse for linenmates probably doesn't help either.

His czeleton buddy and #8 strike again.

 

[Benedict Parisechuk]

Back spasms
Elbow injury
Mumps
Groin
Undisclosed upper body(most likely elbow)....

That is JUST this season and He'll be 39 in 3 weeks....how would you hold up?

This is all why I'm not looking forward to another season of him.

 

[Bleedred]

This is all why I'm not looking forward to another season of him.

I think he'll be fine for one more season. He's not completely finished the way Zubrus is.

It's time to think about life without him after next season. I think he's gonna wanna play one more year after that, I also think it will be with another team like Marty did.

 

[JimEIV]

This is all why I'm not looking forward to another season of him.

Oh, I don't know? I think you can get another good season out of Elias?

Provided he can stay relatively healthy(I understand that is a big "if" for a 39 year old) and you temper expectations. I wouldn't expect primary scoring out of Elias but he'll be top 5 scorer on this team no problem.

 

[Bleedred]

Oh, I don't know? I think you can get another good season out of Elias?

Provided he can stay relatively healthy(I understand that is a big "if" for a 39 year old) and you temper expectations. I wouldn't expect primary scoring out of Elias but he'll be top 5 scorer on this team no problem.

He's probably a 40-45 point player on this team. At least at this point. That's a 40-45 point pace per 82 games, which he hasn't been healthy for in a couple of seasons now.

I wouldn't expect him to return to a 60-70+ point player again, at least not on this team. When a player his age shows a decline like this, they usually don't bounce back and return to form. It's happened before, but I don't find it likely.

Sadly these twilight years just might cost him a spot in the HOF. It's not like a player like Marty or Niedermayer (or even Stevens maybe) who were guaranteed hall of famers many years before they retired. Marty was a hall of famer already after his third cup and 400th win in 2004 before the lockout. Niedermayer is highly likely a hall of famer if he had stayed retired after that 2007 cup and Conn Smythe with Anaheim.

 

[Benedict Parisechuk]

Oh, I don't know? I think you can get another good season out of Elias?

Provided he can stay relatively healthy(I understand that is a big "if" for a 39 year old) and you temper expectations. I wouldn't expect primary scoring out of Elias but he'll be top 5 scorer on this team no problem.

I think it depends what the team looks like next year. If we have another reason of atrocious forward depth then I think you'll see more of the same with Elias (30-40 points). If Lou finds a way to bring some nice pieces in via trade then I think he could still put up 45-55 points. With how bad Jagr fell off this season, I'm wary about Elias even though Elias will be 4 years younger. He looks right now, the way Jagr did in his last few weeks here. Father time is pretty close. I think next season absolutely needs to be Elias' last.

 

[MadDevil]

Guys like Elias and Zajac would be fine if we didn't rely on them as much as we do. Patty is simply too old to be counted on as a primary scorer, and Zajac needs the right winger to be effective offensively.

 

[Benedict Parisechuk]

Also when looking at all these player, you got to think of how they will play on the Devils and their current system. Not every player will thrive here.

Exactly. This is why signing more UFA's is a bad idea. These marginal guys like Stafford and Frolik could put up a good amount of points on a very good offensive team but not us. They'd score like 10 points fewer on a team like the Devils who have one of the worst forward groups in the league and then we'd all be kvetching about them like we do with Ryder and Havlat. Ryder is a pretty much the perfect example of this.

 

[Traitor Zach]

I think he'll be fine for one more season. He's not completely finished the way Zubrus is.

It's time to think about life without him after next season. I think he's gonna wanna play one more year after that, I also think it will be with another team like Marty did.

I think he's a guy the Wings will go after hard a la one year of Alfredsson, especially if they bring guys up like Larkin and Mantha. Surrounding them with Zetterberg, Elias, Datsyuk will help them mature even faster.

Wings were supposedly ready to offer him a 2 yr deal before we jumped in and maxed our 3 yr deal 2 offseasons ago.

 

[JimEIV]

Exactly. This is why signing more UFA's is a bad idea. These marginal guys like Stafford and Frolik could put up a good amount of points on a very good offensive team but not us. They'd score like 10 points fewer on a team like the Devils who have one of the worst forward groups in the league and then we'd all be kvetching about them like we do with Ryder and Havlat. Ryder is a pretty much the perfect example of this.

I agree with not signing UFA's...I've been saying this for years but we're in a "no other choice" situation. We need bodies to fill out the roster.

 

[MadDevil]

I agree with not signing UFA's...I've been saying this for years but we're in a "no other choice" situation. We need bodies to fill out the roster.

I think the key is to try for 1-2 year stopgap signings and avoid any 4-5 year deals on 30+ year olds. But that could be a tough order when you consider free agency is all about outbidding other teams.